


Change Your Mind

by Hollowed Ground (Hollowed_Ground)



Category: Majora's Mask - Fandom, Ocarina of Time - Fandom, Phantom Hourglass - Fandom, Spirit Tracks - Fandom, The Wind Waker
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, F/M, Fix-It, I'm not a Navi-hater I swear, Jolene-centric, Jolene-focus, Linebeck-centric, Linebeck-focus, Mindscrew, Origins, Post-Canon, Reincarnation, Time Travel, Time Travel Fix-It, but this fic is from Linebeck's point of view so Navi doesn't come across too well, canon-levels of alcoholism, creepy Link, does it look like I know how to tag?, look I love Navi and hate Linebeck, tag for when a character sees what someone has gone through and gains a new appreciation of them?, way too many timelines
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-05
Updated: 2021-01-01
Packaged: 2021-03-08 09:40:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 10,670
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26849812
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hollowed_Ground/pseuds/Hollowed%20Ground
Summary: After a night of drinking far too much at some café he's never even heard of before on the Great Sea, Linebeck makes the mistake of wishing that he knew how The Kid had come by such courage.  Meanwhile, in the World of The Ocean King, Jolene is wishing viciously for a chance to... "reunite" with Linebeck.Fortunately for them, the Ocean King is a benevolent god.  Unfortunately for them, he has a sense of humour.  Hey, if the goddesses didn't want him to mess up their plans for their world, they shouldn't have drowned itbeneath the ocean, right?And thus, Linebeck and Jolene encounter people named "Link" whom they keep mistaking for The Kid.  But, as Jolene and Linebeck continue to encounter these Links at different points in time, it becomes less and less clear that thisisa case of mistaken identity.  What if all of these LinksareThe Kid...in different lives?  Is that the secret behind his courage?(Its less mindscrewy counterpart is "Shuffle, Cut the Deck, Draw Four".  For extra fun, see how often you can correctly ID which Link without referring to it.)
Relationships: Jolene & Link, Jolene/Linebeck, Linebeck & Link
Comments: 2
Kudos: 21





	1. Prologue

When Linebeck awoke in an unfamiliar place, his first thought was naturally to try to figure out how he'd gotten here. This was made somewhat more difficult by the massive headache that seemed to be his brain trying to escape his skull before the walls closed in.

He'd drunken far too much milk. That much was clear.

First things first: what was the last thing that he remembered?

He glanced around the room he was in, as if for inspiration. Tall walls, pointy arched windows, checkerboard-square floor, weird sun design at the top of a flight of steps. Red carpeting, nice and soft. Nope. Not ringing any bells.

And, how could he have arrived here? Even if his ship had run aground…well, he'd be washed up on the beach, somewhere, wouldn't he? Linebeck could only conclude, from this, that someone had found him, and brought him into this building, and laid him down on the red carpet.

And then abandoned him, 'cause Linebeck was definitely the only person here. There weren't any other rooms, unless they were hidden secret passages or trapdoors. Still, the person might be coming back any moment….

Well, that line of investigation bore no fruit. Back to trying to recreate events that had led him…here. Wherever that was.

He got it.

***

After the whole ordeal with the giant squid that Linebeck would really prefer not to think about (what _had_ he been thinking, going at it with Link's sword? That was hero work! He was a proud coward!) he'd come across an island that perhaps should have been familiar to him. There were a lot of people there. It had been twilight, and his first thought had been to find a place to stay for the night.

He'd realised, by this time, that he'd left behind the world he'd grown up in—the World of the Ocean King. He was in the world that Link and that weird girl Tetra came from. Nothing should seem familiar, but he could swear he'd been to this island before. Even at sunset, it was a bustling metropolis, overwhelming when the most people Linebeck had seen on one island was a tie between Mercay and Molida, each with about twenty residents, tops.

Hundreds of people lived on this island—this "Windfall" Island. Truly a misnamed island, when the only people getting rich were the merchants.

Everyone he'd asked about lodgings had recommended Gillian's Café. But, when he'd pushed open the door to the tavern to ask about accommodations…well, he'd scarcely had the time to begin to ask about lodgings with the pretty lady behind the bar when a couple burst in, radiating a truly loathsome amount of joy and beaming around the room indiscriminately.

"We're engaged!" the woman in the orange dress announced to the bar. Linebeck glared at the man in the atrocious blue-and-white striped shirt that had his arm slung around the woman's shoulders. If he had to deal with displays of _affection_ , perhaps Linebeck should go elsewhere. He totally wasn't jealous, at all, that these two were clearly so happy together when his last relationship had ended in a shipwreck, complete with murderous ex.

Not at all.

Still…he could perhaps sow a bit of goodwill and a reputation for generosity. It wasn't really that bad, he told himself. People found love all the time. Maybe they'd share their secret to a happy relationship if he asked.

"Let me buy you a round," he found himself saying.

They'd picked something fairly cheap, to his relief, the same sweet cream from local cows tripe that Linebeck had tried and decided was not bitter enough for him. He didn't remember what it was called. He'd just requested "something bitterer", and Gillian had had the sense to tell that he preferred whatever she'd brought him then, and kept refilling his tankard. "Yarrow Lon", or something equally stupid.

He'd spoken to the couple, asking the woman politely how she and the fashion-challenged man had met. Not in those words. He'd put his best effort into being polite. She only frowned a little reprovingly at him, and said,

"Well, Anton and I both grew up on Windfall, but it's such a big place. Still, I used to look forward to seeing him on his daily strolls through town, and sometimes I thought he smiled at me, but I never would have worked up the nerve to talk to him…."

The man that Linebeck now knew to be called Anton continued the tale, "There's an old pictographer who lives at the top of the hill, up those steps past the store. He showed me a pictograph of one of our—what I used to think of as our stolen moments. And I thought, 'Well, if it's clear even to everyone else, I don't want to be the idiot who didn't have the courage to act'. I can't think how he got that pictograph without being noticed, though. He's hard to miss."

"He's quite sneaky," the woman said, blinking blue eyes with long lashes at him adoringly. She hung on the unfortunate pea green vest he was wearing, and stared into his eyes.

This was not what Linebeck wanted to know, but he found himself intrigued, despite himself, at the story of a sneaky old man. He might be thinking of Oshus, and wondering if all old men could disappear and appear the way Oshus did. Then again, Oshus was not a man at all, really.

"With that bright yellow hat and robe—" Anton began.

"No, I think it must've been my cousin's friend—the one from Outset. You remember what I told you about Sue-Belle, right? How when my mother left Outset to seek her fortune abroad, she left a sister behind. _That_ cousin?"

Anton nodded. Linebeck suspected that they'd forgot he existed.

"Sue-Belle said that a friend of hers (from Outset, you know she'd never leave) Link, said something about having to pass a series of trials from Lenzo before Lenzo would help him take colour pictographs—taking pictures of people here at Windfall, I think—"

"That brat!" a man in olive-green shouted. "He took a picture that made me look like some sort of coward!"

"Well, Lenzo is peculiar. I'm sure Link meant no harm. He probably didn't know that Lenzo meant to do anything with it—" Linda interrupted.

"Oh, shut it, Linda. You just don't want to hear anything bad about your matchmaker," the man grumbled, but he remembered that he was supposed to be happy for the new couple, and pasted a smile onto his face, returning to his almost empty mug of what seemed to be just ordinary, milk, no condiments.

Linebeck sort of stared. How common was the name "Link", anyway? Not very, if his previous travels were any indication. So, he said,

"Link? I know a kid named Link. Blond, kind of small—teens, I think—dresses all in green, with a ridiculous hat?"

Linda laughed, and nodded. Anton smiled at her adoringly, and probably did not realise that Linebeck was there.

"Yes, that must be him! It's an old tradition, on Outset—boys wear the clothes of the Hero when they turn fifteen! Granted, it's only supposed to be for a day, but Sue-Belle said he was still wearing them when he came back to see his grandmother—she lives there, you know."

"He saved our aerie," said a new voice, and Linebeck started. It belonged to be what seemed to be a cross between a man and a bird, with white ringlets for hair, and a beak for a nose. "I'm sorry. I couldn't help cutting in. Ilari, at your service," He bowed to the couple; Linda giggled and covered her mouth, waving a hand airily. "He helped me deliver mail to that—savage who lives in the house on the hill. Maggie's father? And he soothed the great sky spirit Valoo's anger. Our people might have died out, if not for his actions. If they're the clothes of a Hero, I think he deserves to wear them as long as he likes."

And here Linebeck had thought it just an unfortunate fashion choice. He hadn't thought the clothes had any _meaning_.

He started on his second tankard of milk. This was the bitter one he'd requested.

It hit him, then. "Soothe a sky spirit"? Was there some history to the boy's heroics? Sure, Link had been uncommonly brave, to the point of idiocy, in fact, for as long as Linebeck had known him—and he was uncommonly, unnaturally, skilled with every weapon he'd come across. Linebeck hadn't thought much of it at the time, but—

"What's this about a Hero, and legendary clothes?" he managed to ask. He'd leave questions about mending relationships for a bit later, when he was drunker.

"They're the clothes of some sort of Legendary Hero, from a tale told around the campfire on Outset. It's just a silly superstition, really. And traditional. Grandpa studied swords, a bit, but it's only Uncle Orca who really learnt how to wield a sword—he must have taught Link. I grew up here, and Mom wanted nothing to do with that nonsense. I don't know the legend. If you want to know more about any of it, you'd have to ask Grandpa, or Uncle Orca. They're still alive. They live on Outset, still. I don't think Mom would ever be able to convince them to leave. I don't know that they'll even be there for the wedding."

Her smiled dimmed. Linebeck felt almost remorseful at bringing such unpleasant thoughts to what was supposed to her celebration. Then, her remembered that she'd ruined his own plans.

Still, he was somehow learning more about The Kid (whom he would never call by his name to his face, thank you) than he had in the months they'd voyaged together. Link was always so _focused_ , desperate to save that Tetra girl before the Monster Squid drained out the last of her lifeforce—sure, Linebeck couldn't blame the boy for his single-minded focus, but it made small talk even more impossible than it naturally was with Ciela there.

Is that where the Kid had learnt to be so brave? At the Outset place, from Linda's Great-Uncle? He knew that he couldn't ask her, but it was somewhat…shaming, to think that he'd never considered the matter, before. He'd tried to make some small talk with Link, sure, but he'd made no effort to get to know The Kid—where he came from, his history, what made him the way he was. He sort of wished that he had, now.

Linda droned on and on about her wedding plans, and Linebeck continued to drink the Yarrow-Lon or whatever it was to give himself the courage to ask about how the two of them had managed to work through their differences, instead of going their separate ways as sworn enemies.

"Damn, I wish I had half the spunk of that kid," he muttered into the table. "If I did, I wouldn't be in this mess!" It was easier to admit when drunk. "Wish I could see where it all started. That Outset place, right? Guess I could sail there. Not a good idea when I'm this drunk, though…."

He probably said something like that, anyway. His memory was a bit muzzy. The rest of the night was a blur, but he remembered boarding the SS Linebeck and setting sail. _It's far to the south, almost at the edges of the known reaches of the Great Sea. Twin Islands, connected by a bridge. You can't miss them_ , was Linda's helpful advice.

And then, somehow, he was here.

This did not feel like an island at all. There was something about the air….

He sprang up, and decided to go exploring. And sat down again, when his head protested violently.

***

Jolene just wished that she could catch up with Linebeck, and show why you never messed with a woman's heart. She'd muttered threats and violent wishes for his untimely demise before, but perhaps her heart had been softened by that damn Kid and his loyalty to Linebeck combined with his resolve to save the world by defeating that Bellum thing. She'd come to admire that Kid, and had to think twice before dismissing anyone he respected.

Even Linebeck.

"I just wish I could catch up to him where he couldn't run away. I at least deserve _answers_!" she shouted to the open sky.

The open sky was not what granted her request.


	2. Chapter 1: Ocarina of Time 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Linebeck has his first encounter with a Link since leaving the World of the Ocean King.

It took a few tries, but Linebeck did manage to drag himself to his feet and stumble over to a wall. It was easier than it might be, after that, to make a slow, tedious way to the door.

No one came.

He didn't look ahead of him, or around him, or anywhere except for the wall beside him, and that was only to help guide his steps out the door. It was a long way but by the time he reached it his head was beginning to show signs of clarity. He managed to stumble out on his own two feet, without clinging to the sides of the doorway. There was no door, which might be just as well.

He emerged into sunshine so bright that he fell backwards, as if it had hit him. It hadn't been _dark_ in the building, but there hadn't been any lights. Sunshine through the windows had provided all the illumination there was. Now, he was surrounded by the real thing. He sat there, on the stone floor, with his legs sticking out into lush grass, with his eyes squeezed tight shut. It wasn't doing his headache any favours.

Perhaps he even fell asleep there. The sun seemed less bright when he opened his eyes, and his head was much clearer. He thought a lot of time had passed, but wasn't sure. He looked around to see if anyone had noticed him. The area was empty, however, except for the faint sound of raised voices in the distance. It made for as good of a destination as anything, he supposed. He couldn't just wait here forever for whoever had helped him to come back.

He was in a sort of courtyard, he thought, but something was very wrong. He couldn't hear or smell the sea at all. No one would drag him that far inland, surely, even if he'd been wrecked on a big enough island. He heard birds and other wildlife, and could smell grass and dirt and flowers in bloom somewhere nearby. But the sea has a distinctive smell, and he wasn't smelling it.

He stumbled towards the faint sound of voices, across dirt and grass and past a row of four weird, carved grey rocks, down a flight of steps, and along a dirt path, into a city as busy and chaotic as Windfall.

He was in the market district. There were shops arranged around a square, a well at its heart, and people _everywhere_ , wandering in and out of the square, hawking wares, chatting, picking fights, and, most commonly, waiting and watching at the edges. It was something of a shock. The building he'd just left had been so _quiet_.

His eyes began to look for a tavern, or something. A Milk Bar would be nice. Maybe he'd settle for asking one of these watchers for directions.

Unfortunately, he made the poor choice of continuing into the market, looking around what he could see of the city, taking in the sights, instead of standing back and watching where he was going. Someone nearly ran into him, but Linebeck saw the figure change course just in time to avoid a collision, a flash of green that seemed to be headed in the direction Linebeck had just come from.

There was also a blue glow nearby, which had Linebeck automatically snap his head in that direction, in case it was that damned spirit Neri onto him about how stupid he was, wasting his days hunting for treasure instead of trying to improve himself, or whatever. It was an impulse that came in the moment before he would have realised that Neri, Ciela, and Leaf had left, stayed behind with the Ocean King, to watch over the world Linebeck had grown up in.

He blinked. That sure looked like Neri to him. Same blue glow, same dragonfly wings, same—well, that was all that you could see of a spirit. And the figure that nearly ran into him—

"Wait? _Kid_?" he asked incredulously. There was no way The Kid had gone looking for him was there? And even if he had, he wouldn't have just brushed past Linebeck—

"The Kid" turned, and Linebeck realised his mistake with the sort of stupefaction that comes only from realising that you've made a colossally stupid error. The kind so huge that you just don't see afterwards how it was even possible.

To wit, _this_ kid was: younger than Link, shorter than Link, wore a different outfit (shorts and a brimless cap, although the presence of a stocking cap made Linebeck feel _less_ stupid, not _more_ ), had redder hair in a different style from The Kid, and…well, basically looked completely different. He completed the effect by drawing some sort of short sword that would have been a dagger in the hands of an adult, but ended up being a sword for Kid-Two, he was just that small.

Linebeck would later blame a combination of shock and reflexes dulled by too much bar-milk for what happened next. He certainly didn't see it happen in real time. One second, he was staring at Kid-Two, and the next he was up against a wall on his knees with a knife at his throat. He was at eye-level with Kid-Two, now, and those were some scary eyes. They looked old. Really, really old. Like, seen everything sort of old. It sort of creeped Linebeck out.

He scrutinised Linebeck the entire conversation with an intense, evaluating look, as if he could see right through Linebeck.

But, that light! That had to be Neri, didn't it? Neri would help him…maybe?

"You were looking for me?" asked Kid-Two, in a voice that was somehow both high-pitched and terrifying. Linebeck attempted to spread his hands, and immediately thought better of it when a sharp pain told him that _this_ kid wouldn't hesitate to hurt him. What in Oshus's name—

"I wasn't! I swear! I just thought you looked like someone I knew, that's all! It was a mistake. Pleaseletmego," Linebeck was two words away from babbling incoherently, but thought he deserved credit for holding it together as well as he had.

"Someone you knew?" Kid-Two repeated. He did not sound as if he believed this. "Did Ganondorf send you?"

And cap all his idiocy with a name that was so unfamiliar, said in a level voice so that Linebeck couldn't tell if "yes" or "no" was the safer answer. If this "Ganondorf" was Kid-Two's boss, then he might buy himself some time by playing the messenger. But if he were some sort of enemy….

Linebeck was very aware of the Kid's dagger still very close to doing irreversible damage to his person. He settled for honesty.

"Who?" he asked. "Whozzat?"

"You didn't see the man gallop through market on a black horse a few hours ago?" Kid-Two asked.

"I only just got here, and I don't even know where _here_ is." Linebeck decided that, having started down this path, he might as well see it through to the end.

Kid-Two adjusted the knife to pose slightly less of an overt risk to Linebeck's life, but not enough that he could relax. It made him think that he'd made the right choice, at least.

"You're in Castle Town," Kid-Two said, in an offhand sort of way.

"What's a castle?" Linebeck returned. There was a moment where no one moved, but Kid-Two stared at him with wide eyes that momentarily matched his face. The hard, edgy look did not return to his face. There was a sort of softness, instead, a pitying, almost condescending expression, tinged with wariness.

"I'm not from around here," Linebeck added, quite superfluously. "I—" here came the rambling. "I own a steamship, and I sail the waters of the Ocean King, only he sent me to some other world, and then I came to Gillian's Café on Windfall Island, you know—she has this really good milk called 'Yarrow Lon' or something—"

A look of incredulous contempt replaced the earlier pity. Linebeck was not sure whether he was glad of this or not.

"He seems _harmless_!" said Ciela's voice, and Linebeck cursed his inability to keep from jerking his head in that direction automatically. Some part of him noted that Ciela sounded cold and distant as he'd never heard her, voice professional and severe, except for a bit of impatience.

The Kid lessened the pressure to his windpipe as if expecting him to startle and accidentally slit his own throat, which was good of him, and Linebeck was already on his knees, so he could pretty easily kowtow to show his gratitude, except the knife was still there, if angled a bit off so that he wasn't in immediate danger.

It wasn't his own reaction that had lessened the pressure. It was Ciela's words.

"Huh? Ciela? Why do you look like Neri?" Could spirits change their colours the way humans changed clothes? What if they'd been playing switcheroo on him the entire time he'd been carrying The Kid all over the World of the Ocean King?

"Who are those?" Neri or Ciela snapped, apparently deciding that he was worth a little of her attention, now for the first time.

"The spirits of Wisdom and Courage?" he asked, as if this would jog her memory. He recalled that Ciela had apparently lost hers long before they met, and wondered if perhaps that was what was happening, here. Maybe she'd lost her memory again. But then, what about Kid-Two?

"I'm not a _spirit_ ," Ciela said, sounding offended. "I'm not like those _poes_. The nerve of little boys these days. Listen here: my name is _Navi_ , and I'm a _fairy_. Is that clear enough for you?"

She said these two words very slowly, as if he were stupid, and incapable of understanding basic human speech. Linebeck decided then and there that, even though she was apparently neither Neri nor Ciela, he hated her anyway.

"Really, that was very rude of you," Kid-Two continued reprovingly. "Apologise to her."

What? Oh, come _on_! He wasn't even being insulting!

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" he squeaked at her, nonetheless. Navi's flapping grew less rapid, as if she were settling down. Linebeck noticed that this Kid, too, was left-handed, as The Kid's knife returned to its sheath on his back. He turned to Navi.

"We don't have _time_ for this," Navi said, apparently content to pretend that Linebeck didn't exist. She'd returned to her calm professionalism. "We have _orders_! The Princess said—"

Kid-Two gave an offhand, imperious wave. "I know, I know." He returned his attention to Linebeck. "Look, I think we've got off on the wrong foot, here. Let me make it up to you. Things are gonna get real dangerous here soon. You want to be away from here before then. Go to Kakariko Village. It's to your left after you leave the castle over the moat. There's a bridge over Zora's River, and it's just up the steps past that. Got it?"

He stared at Linebeck as if trying to read his mind, and Linebeck remembered that he'd decided that Kid-Two was creepy.

"Right. Danger. Go to Kakariko over the bridge."

"Link, come _on_! We have to hurry, before Ganondorf comes back!" Navi called, from along the path to the row of weird rocks.

Linebeck started, and then stared. What were the odds, really, that this Kid would _also_ be named Link?

"I'm Linebeck," he offered, as if that would erase the last few minutes. Why hadn't any of the watchers noticed what was going on? Did they just not care? Granted, he wouldn't have messed with Kid-Two—with Link—either.

"Link, of the Kokiri," Kid-Two said, with a little bow and a glance over at the impatiently bobbing Navi.

"Kokiri?" asked Linebeck, but Link was too distracted to notice. He hurried up the path Linebeck had recently come down, and did not answer.

Linebeck could not blame him. He thought that Navi would make anyone behave thus.


	3. Chapter 2: Ocarina of Time 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Linebeck meets an older Link, seven years later, after establishing himself in Kakariko Village. This meeting goes better.

Linebeck wasn't used to needing to start from scratch. He'd done it before, when he'd had to go through all the hassle of earning enough money to buy his boat, and get his license. The World of the Ocean King did not know what to make of homeless orphan urchins. He'd done his best, between begging and doing odd jobs, and it had paid off. He hadn't expected to need to do it again.

This time, he had funds—not as much as he'd like, as much of his money had been on the SS Linebeck, but he had _some_. He had no connections, however, which was a bit of a counterweight this go around. There was no one to vouch for him as a hard worker, or a competent seaman.

Not that that mattered, as apparently no one knew about the existence of seas or oceans. He'd snuck a look at a map in the Town library, and seen that _Hyrule_ , as this land was called, was barricaded off from the rest of the world by desert to the west, forest to the east, mountains to the north, and a high cliff face that the locals affectionately called the "end of the world". This was around the land's biggest body of water, "Lake Hylia".

Over the next week he'd stayed in Hyrule Castle Town, and not encountered either Link-Two or Navi again. They seemed to have vanished. He didn't have much time to spare on thinking about them.

He learnt a weighty amount of new words in that week, words like "kingdom" and "princess" and "kokiri" and "lake". It was a lot to take in. Then, there were proper names, too many to learn in a single week. People loved to gossip about the royal family. It made his head hurt quite as much as being drunk.

After the week, he'd followed Link's advice, and headed out the castle gates, across the drawbridge, and traveled the path crossed the bridge, and climbed the stairs, to find himself in a village under construction. Only later would he learn how lucky he was to have made the journey in broad daylight. It probably seemed inconsequential to Link (if he even knew about them) but skeletal children came out of the ground at night. The villagers told ghost stories about them.

Linebeck set himself up in a treasure shop in a kiosk in the open air, at first, until he could afford to rent a building. People were intrigued, and treasure was always popular. Gorons who visited the village discovered that the "yucky insect rock" that they tended to set aside as not fit for consumption was considered valuable by Hylians. Zoras traded out items they found by their temple under the lake. Hylians found relics from centuries and decades in the kingdom's past. Linebeck figured out how to both attract customers by fair pricing, and turn a profit.

Seven years passed.

***

Linebeck had almost forgotten about that encounter in Hyrule Castle Town. He was content enough, he thought, in this Trading Post he'd built. He missed the ocean, of course, and his ship, something fierce. But Kakariko Village—now Kakariko Town—was charming and peaceful. He could no longer travel the world, but he didn't mind as much as he thought he would. It was safer here.

He rethought that conclusion when a man came into the shop one day, looking all around with a familiar, piercing gaze. His eyes, far older than his apparent years, settled upon Linebeck. It was Link, Kid-Two, as Linebeck had dubbed him seven years ago. Only, he wasn't a kid anymore.

His hair had gone a bit yellower, settling into a sort of orange-tinted gold, and he'd had a few alterations to his outfit (Linebeck swallowed a laugh that turned into a cough at the sight of the earring), and there were some sort of gloves, and leggings. Other than that….

"Oh, gods, not again," Linebeck muttered, burying his head in his palm and rubbing it all over. "You're not going to threaten me, are you?"

"What?" asked Link, and there was a moment where Linebeck thought he'd misidentified the man _again_ , but there couldn't be that many people wearing similar outfits accompanied by balls of blue light. "Who are you?"

Because, apparently, their last encounter was such a common thing that Kid-Two didn't even consider it _memorable_.

Navi hissed something in his ear, and his head snapped around as he looked over at her, winced, and then slowly redirected his gaze back to Linebeck.

"Right, right. Sorry about that. I was just—I was in a hurry, and everything was—I mean, Ganon had just been through Castle Town and I thought he might have had followers or something. I guess I was a bit hasty. I thought I had to hurry and get to the Temple of Time. Didn't expect to be stuck in the Sacred Realm for seven years just because I drew the Master Sword."

Apparently, this was what it looked like when Link-Two babbled. Linebeck understood less than half of what he said, and he was _sober_ , this time.

" _Link_!" Navi hissed again, so loud that Linebeck could hear it.

"Right! I heard you have some sort of Trading Post or something. I have…some rocks? I think you call it 'Goron Amber'. The people in town said it was fairly valuable."

It was used in the making of jewelry, yes. That made it valuable by default. Amber was also considered to be a precious stone on its own, and mystics said it had some sort of spiritual powers.

Linebeck forced a smile onto his face, and told his pounding heart that there was a counter between him and any potential threats. Link snapped his hands and a rather large chunk of Goron Amber fell into it. Linebeck had to concede that that would fetch a hefty sum, intact, or could be broken up and sold in smaller, still quite valuable pieces. If Link hadn't threatened him seven years ago, Linebeck would have dared to ask how he'd come by it. But he didn't.

"Link, aren't you almost done?" asked a voice, and a figure in tight blue clothes peeked around the door, and then opened it to come in. Apparently, the owner of the voice had played around with Mommy's medical bandages as a kid, got tangled up, and never managed to untangle themself.

"What?" asked Link, turning around to face the entrance. "Oh, sorry Sheik. I got a bit held up. I met this guy in Market Town back before…you know. I kind of didn't make a very good impression."

Sheik scoffed. "Just hurry up. I'll be waiting outside. May I remind you that the fate of Hyrule is at stake?"

Linebeck assumed from the tone of voice and word choice that this "Sheik" was a woman, although those clothes were so tight that it was hard to imagine either way.

"Right, so—"

"You're going to save the world?" he asked, somewhat in shock by a further commonality with The Kid.

"Y-Yeah. I mean, Ganondorf took over seven years ago—that's why Market Town is swarming with redead, and all. If I can beat him, it will be safe to go back there."

Another _hero_ Link. The coincidences were stacking rather high, now.

"I'll pay you a thousand rupees." Just please go away.

"A _thousand_? I can't—" Right. People in Hyrule never seemed to be able to carry more than about five hundred rupees.

"I'll hold your money in the vault for you. You can come back for the rest later."

It was not so much that the stuff was that valuable (although it really was, here; in the World of the Ocean King it would only be worth about fifty rupees) as that Linebeck wanted to get Link out of his shop. And Navi, who was just basically hissing things in Link's ear. Probably exhortations that he get back to his quest, right now.

If it were the other Link, Linebeck would have snapped at her to _stop nagging, he's just a kid and needs to relax and kick back, too_ , but he hadn't forgotten the feel of the steel of that dagger against his neck.

"Alright. Thank you so much, Linebeck," Link said, with an appreciative smile. He bowed, again. "My name's Link—-"

"—Of the Kokiri," existential panic induced Linebeck to interrupt. "I remember.

"Not to worry, Hero," he said. "Just don't kill me, please."

Link laughed, and regained his creepy, intense stare. "I'll try not to. But don't sneak up on me."

"It was you who ran into _me_!" Linebeck managed to stutter after Link left.


	4. Chapter 3: Ocarina of Time 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Didn't you wonder what had become of Jolene?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy New Year, anyone!

Unlike Linebeck, Jolene was not drunk out of her mind when she was whisked away to Hyrule. In fact, she wasn't drunk at all. The SS Linebeck, during the point in time when The Kid (or "little boy in green", as she called him, with the utmost respect) had worked there, had once or twice disappeared in a flash of light right before her eyes. She had seen instantaneous teleportation at work, here, and she knew that something that was at the very least similar had just happened to her.

Even if she'd been drunk, she could hardly have missed the sudden shift. The waters of the World of the Ocean King, the only home she'd ever known, were bright and deep. Sunlight bounced off them into foolish sailors' eyes. The winds brought storms on the sea and flung sand into the eyes on land. The sun beat down on you with boiling, unforgiving light.

And yet, the cruelty of those seas had nothing on this place. She'd thought she'd known what heat was before, and glare, and stinging winds. These winds set about as if they were trying to flay her alive.

She was lying on her back, gazing at a sand-muddied sky. It was not the clear blue that she was used to. She groaned, and tried to push herself to her knees. She managed to roll herself over, with an effort, but she could gain no traction against the ever shifting sands.

It would be easier to walk than to crawl. Somehow, by shifting her weight, she managed to raise herself onto her feet. The sand covered her feet, but slid out of her clothes and her hair.

She looked around. There were no landmarks—nothing was in sight. No water. No trees. Nothing living at all. No buildings. No caves. No pits. No landmarks. No water. No food. No shelter.

Fear coiled into the pit of her stomach. If she had no objective, and no way of finding out where she was, perhaps she was best picking a direction and hoping that she could keep it. It was better than waiting for someone to come get her, someone whom she had no reason to believe even existed. She would die out here without shelter and water.

She set off.

***

It was grueling, taxing work, and every second seemed to last forever. The sun beat down on her punishingly, and the wind flung sand into her face and her clothes. She had her wallet to pay for supplies, if she could ever find another human being who would sell them to her. If there even were other people here. It felt as if she might be the only person left in the world, a last survivor.

She intended to survive.

She walked for a very long time—hours in the blistering heat, without any supplies worth mentioning. It came as a shock when her hand, groping into the howling sandstorm before her, hit upon something solid. She thought that she was imagining things—that the desert sun was making her hallucinate. She'd heard of the desert before. It was, according to her grandmother, the home of their ancestors. She knew that must be where she was—that place long ago buried under the sea in the story her grandmother had once told her and Joanna.

 _This_ was a desert. It was a secret graveyard, where the dying went to be forgotten.

She heard the clap of fabric flapping in the wind, and looked up at a red flag, high overhead. She had stumbled into a flagpost. Her heart leapt before she could quash her hopes. A sign that, just maybe, there might be a civilisation somewhere here.

She saw another, ahead of her, and made for it. When it was nearly upon her, she caught sight of another flag. She realised that they were markers for a path, and followed them, not quite hoping to dare for the best.

She reached her limit before she reached civilisation.

***

"Poor fool, found her out in the middle of the desert—"

"Is she one of us, though? Look at that hair! It's _black_!"

"Maybe dye? Ask Tira; she keeps the odd ones."

"That sword—"

It would never have occurred to Jolene to leave behind her scimitar, but it was not something that most people noticed. It returned to her even when left behind. Grandmother had said that it was enchanted. When Joanna had scoffed at the idea of playing pirates, Jolene had taken the sword into her hands, and smiled at the feeling of its solid dependability.

"She's awake!" the first voice noticed. Jolene's eyes sprang open and she tried to leap to her feet. But the desert had sapped her of too much of her strength. It was all that she could do to stare around at the women surrounding the cot that had been laid out for her. Little more than a pile of blankets covered something hard and uncomfortable.

The women all looked rather similar to each other, or at least more than they did Jolene. They had bright red hair pulled back in the same sort of ponytail as Jolene favoured, with baggy purple pants and matching purple tops that were basically glorified bras. Their eyes were yellow, and they wore makeup in pink and silver. They were darker skinned than she was. The only person she'd met with darker skin was Beedle who owned the shop ship network.

And each of them carried two scimitars at their sides. Jolene was sure that they knew how to use them.

"…black." she heard. The women were staring at her in fascination.

"We should ask Midamu. She's in charge with the Great Ganondorf away—"

The chatter went over her head. She wished they'd speak _to_ her, instead of _around_ her.

"Please, where am I?" she asked. She knew the place and time for pride, unlike that idiot Linebeck.

Wait a minute. She'd been wishing to be able to even just _talk_ to him right before she'd disappeared. Had he done this? Was he here, too?

"It speaks!" cried one of the women, with fake surprise. "You are in the Gerudo Fortress. You look almost like one of us. We're trying to figure out whether to let the desert eat you, or keep you around and make you one of us!"

That was unusually direct. A different woman spoke.

"Midamu is in charge. She should be here any minute. She'll decide what to do with you."

"Are you of our blood?" asked the third woman. "You look…but then, your hair, and your eyes…."

Jolene nodded. A race of women who lived in the desert and wielded twin scimitars fit with what Grandmother had told her.

"My sister is blonde," she said. "I think…our blood isn't as strong, but we've got to have gerudo blood there. She spoke of our ancestors coming from the desert."

The women looked thoughtful. "Can you fight with that?" asked the first one, at length.

Jolene's face split into an alarming grin that was matched by the women around her.

***

She had to wait before she could show them her skills until she had recovered. This "Midamu" who was in charge also didn't show up during that time. The women were not overtly hostile, but neither were they welcoming or friendly. She was neither a prisoner nor a guest. She didn't know what they thought of her.

She recovered after several days, which she suspected would have been several weeks or more in the care of anyone else. The gerudos lived in the desert. They knew how to deal with heatstroke and dehydration and goddesses knew what else she'd been hit with.

She was amazed at their level of skill. She was used to The Kid besting her, but he was an anomaly. He was a Hero. He was the sort of being that was not-quite-human born to protect humanity. She was allowed to lose to him. Fighting these women, however, showed her her own hubris and shortcomings.

Forget Linebeck! She wanted to stay! She wanted to learn! And when she saw Linebeck again…she'd pay him back _good_.

The women thought a lot more highly of her after they'd seen her fight. They brought her food and water to replenish what she'd lost, and bantered and teased with her. They were suddenly all very warm and welcoming.

Midamu arrived the next day. She looked very like the others, but she dressed all in red. This meant, Jolene later learnt, that she was in charge of security, and guarded the prison cells.

They had a long chat, in which Jolene had confirmed for her that she had traveled back in time (although she did not let on about this), and it was arranged that she would be trained and welcomed into the gerudos as one of their own.

 _If only Joanna could see me now!_ she thought, before she knew what this entailed.

***

Her next memory was of looking down the point of some sort of fancy-looking sword, which was pointed right at her, where she knelt on the ground. She looked down its length until she found the blue hilt clutched in a gauntleted hand, and then up that left arm covered in a tight white sleeve, to an almost-familiar green tunic, and then up into a _very_ familiar face, with that stupid stocking cap (only this one had no brim), and those old, old eyes that always felt as if they could see into her soul. She wished all his opponents (that weren't evil) luck in overcoming the look in those eyes long enough to concentrate on the battle.

But she knew that she'd traveled back in time, so this couldn't be the "little boy in green". This couldn't be the Hero. This couldn't be The Kid. This couldn't be _Link_.

"Link, what are you doing?" asked a fidgety ball of blue light that Jolene would have mistaken for that mentor-spirit that protected Link even, as she'd heard told, in the battle against Bellum. But, she knew better.

Although: what the hell? this boy in green's name was _also_ Link? Some sort of ancestor, or something?

"She's different from the others," not-The-Kid said confidently. "And, don't you remember what that one carpenter said about the witches experimenting with brainwashing in the desert?"

 _Brainwashing?_ Jolene wondered. And then, it clicked. Oh, no. Oh, _hells_ no.

He gave her that searing look that made her feel as if he could read minds that she'd thought only the Kid had.

He nodded, as if he'd discovered her innermost secrets and was now satisfied. "You don't belong here," he said.

She snorted a laugh, and tried to act tough. The Kid had always creeped her out, and this one was lining up to be the same. "Oh, really, genius? What was your first clue? That I've got black hair and eyes when the other girls here have red hair and yellow eyes, maybe?"

He shook his head, but not in answer to her question. "I should have seen it before. I knew there was something wrong about him. You're like that Linebeck—not in your proper time."

Linebeck. Oh, gods. He _was_ here, too. Jolene was irrationally certain that this whole mess was his fault.

"Time travel isn't the thing that's wrong with Linebeck," she said, with a half-cough, half-laugh.

The other Link raised an eyebrow. "You know him, then?"

An idea popped into Jolene's head. She fluttered her eyelashes as best she could (it couldn't be that difficult) although she'd never tried it before. "He's my _boyfriend_ , but when I got captured by these…thieves, we were separated. Oh, please, if you know where he is, take me to him. Please?"

" _Link_ , remember your quest! We have to save the carpenters!" said the ball of light that wasn't one of the three guardian spirits.

That thoughtful, scheming look was less familiar, but Jolene was almost sure she'd seen it before, too. "It won't take that long. We'll ride Epona."

He smiled at Jolene, and his smile was too amiable for someone who still clutched a sword pointed at his opponent's chest in his hand. "Do you know how to ride a horse?"


	6. Spirit Tracks 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Linebeck and Jolene are teleported to a different time and place. They are now in a different Hyrule Castle Town, and run into yet another Link. This one mistakes them for people he knows. Things get confusing.

Linebeck never thought he'd think this, but at least he and Jolene awoke in the same place. They awoke at the same time, which gave him no opportunity to flee, or to really take in his surroundings. There was the plashing of water, quite near, that came from a fountain behind him. But he didn't recognise where they were, and he still couldn't sense the sea nearby.

" _Now_ where are we?" he asked aloud. He stumbled to his feet. Jolene followed him with greater grace, which was unsurprising. He was not known for his grace or acrobatics.

Beneath their feet were paved grey flagstones, as if he were back in Hyrule Castle Market Town. But it was too different. Too…open. Too small.

There were shops, arranged in no particular sort of order, scattered here and there as if some giant had rolled them around and then just tossed them around the city. Except then they would have all been upside down or in pieces, so not like that at all. Still, it somehow managed to be a far more chaotic and disorderly place than the first castle town.

They were in another castle town. It did not take much searching or asking around to learn this. He'd tried to convince Jolene that they should split up to cover more ground, but she'd just glared at him, hands on her hips, unimpressed. _You're not getting away that easy!_ her look had said.

They'd wandered around town asking the least conspicuous questions that Linebeck could think of. Because of course he was the one stuck doing all the asking. Even though asking around was Jolene's idea.

They were in Castle Town, and most people seemed to be fixated on the problem of disappearing "spirit tracks", whatever those were. Their absence seemed to mean that no one could enter or leave this town, which was…a bit disconcerting. Then again, maybe people here were just too lazy to walk anywhere.

Really, more even than asking anyone, the thing that really cemented that they were in (another) town like the first was the huge keep looming up behind the rectangular walls enclosing the town. There wasn't any drawbridge or moat, but the town was walled in, and beyond those walls was what Linebeck had learnt to recognise as a castle. From seeing it twice and reading about it in books. However, it was not the _same_ castle.

"I think we've been sent to another world again," he lamented to Jolene, after a bit of wandering around asking questions like "what town is this?", and "is that a castle back there?", and "who runs this place?".

Jolene seemed almost ready to agree. That was disconcerting.

"Maybe, that other place was also another world?"

She seemed to be rethinking the merits of her earlier conviction. It was more reassuring when she decided, despite that, to put her foot down and stick with her earlier decision.

"No," she said, with greater conviction than she felt. "That was the same world as ours, just in a different time. Maybe this place is, as well."

"Where is the sea, then? The sea covered up everything in your family myth, remember?"

Jolene frowned, glaring holes into the flagstones. "Maybe in the future, the seas went back down? If those goddesses could flood the world, they could surely dry it back out."

Linebeck silently disagreed with this assessment, but figured there wasn't a way to know for sure, and it didn't really matter. Far more important were questions like: "how long are we going to be here this time?", "why are we still together?", and "what do we do now?".

There was a bit more wandering involved before they regrouped at the fountain that seemed to lie in the heart of town.

Maybe they should try going to the castle? But, Linebeck still couldn't shake the memory of redeads, and had somehow added into that that castles would inevitably be the source of troubles rather than a fix for them. He wasn't sure where that came from. Maybe it was in how the castle had been taken first, and then the market.

As he was pondering these things, he thought he heard a familiar voice. By the way Jolene's head snapped to face the proper direction, he thought that he wasn't the only one who thought that that voice sounded familiar.

"—I mean, there's one under the _ocean_. Why wouldn't there be one in the middle of an active volcano?"

It was, in fact, another? Link, his head turned to address someone that apparently only he could see.

Oh, great. This one was delusional. If not for this fact, and their current location far from any ocean, Linebeck would have assumed that it was The Kid, the one he and Jolene knew from the World of the Ocean King. He looked just the same, right down to the outfit.

Linebeck considered the merits of curling up into a ball and pretending to be a statue. It probably wouldn't work. His clothes were too bright, and he'd never convince Jolene to hide….

"Oh! Hi, Linebeck!" The Kid said cheerfully, coming over to them. "I didn't expect to see you here!"

Then again, maybe it _was_ The Kid. How else would he know Linebeck's name? Still, he seemed awfully…peppy. Linebeck had never seen The Kid look this animated. He sort of stared. He would, tentatively, consider this one Kid-Three. His name, Linebeck thought that he could assume by now, was Link.

"Hey, Kid," he said, resigned to whatever shit Oshus was pulling on him now. (He assumed that it was Oshus.) He barely noticed that Kid-Three did not seem to find it at all out-of-the-ordinary for him to address him as "Kid" instead of by name. "I'm…sightseeing."

Kid-Three nodded. "Not the best time for that, with the spirit tracks and all. No one seems to have noticed that they're all _back_! Here in the Forest Realm, at least. Then again, I'm the only person with a still operating train. I think all the others are…possessed. They've turned into these weird evil trains. Come to think of it, how'd you get here? Did you walk? It's too dangerous. Tell you what, I'll give you a lift back to the Trading Post."

Huh? Linebeck was getting more confused by the moment. Kid-Three's concern seemed to be genuine, as did the offer. He seemed certain that Linebeck worked at a Trading Post, however, which was something that only Kid-Two should know, if any of the Links. Jolene, however, had thoughtfully observed that this version of Link did not seem to have the ability to bore holes into your mind with his eyes. This was yet another Link.

Before anyone could say anything, Kid-Three turned his head back to the side, as if listening to something, and his bright smile turned into a frown. "Well, yes, I _know_ ," he said to nothing. "But he did help us, too, you know! We wouldn't've gotten to the Ocean Realm otherwise, and it's hardly his fault that that bridge builder—"

He turned back to face them abruptly, as if he'd been caught doing something he shouldn't. As in the Trading Post during the first seven years, he started to babble. "Oh, uh, hi! The Princess doesn't like you very much, that's all. I think she thinks it's extortion that you had me go through all those traps in that cave by the Trading Post to get that ring that your grandfather buried behind the cave when you were supposed to do it even though you volunteered us—I mean me—to pay the reparation fees. I mean, she still holds it against you—what can you do?—Oh! Hi! You're the lady who runs 'Take 'Em All On'! I didn't see you there!" he abruptly turned to Jolene. "I don't think I ever caught your name. I didn't know you knew Linebeck."

Jolene was very calm about this. She knew that this Link was a stranger. "We have a history," she said, in a neutral sort of way.

She noted that he, somehow, seemed to recognise her and Linebeck. Or perhaps not. If Link seemed to have equivalents who showed up _everywhere_ , perhaps it was inevitable that she would eventfully hear rumour of counterparts for her and Linebeck. She'd heard a superstition once, from a goron, that every person in the world had two counterparts who looked just like them. This could be one of The Kid's counterparts. And he seemed to know hers, and Linebeck's.

Strange, though, that they seemed to have the same names.

"I don't mean to be rude, but is the third door ready, yet? I've been working really hard, and I've learnt how to do lots of things!"

Jolene thought about what he'd said earlier, about "Take 'Em All On". That name seemed pretty straightforward. Some sort of brawl-challenge sport. Exactly what she'd expect from a Hero.

"No, it isn't ready yet," she said. She folded her arms across her chest. "You haven't learnt enough for it, anyway."

If this wasn't the case, she doubted the actual proprietress of the game would hunt down The Kid to tell him so. Still, she should probably see if she couldn't find this counterpart to let her know.

He actually _pouted_. "I'm ready for the red door—it is gonna be red, right?—I promise!"

If he thought it would be red, he probably had reason. It was the third door, he'd said. She thought of the land they'd just left, devoted to three goddesses, with three associated colours. She'd seen that symbol of the triangles here, too. Blue, green, and red.

If you were going to paint the doors of a minigame that seemed custom-tailored to tough guys any three colours, it would probably be those three.

At least, in Hyrule. And they'd been told that this was "Hyrule Castle Town". They were in _a_ Hyrule, at least.

"You're not ready," she repeated, ignoring the way Linebeck looked back and forth between the two of them, open-mouthed, clearly on the verge of asking her how she knew what the hell this newest Link was talking about. The idiot.

The newest Link crossed his arms and glared at her. She started—that was almost a familiar glare, if a bit too petulant and sulky, as if not yet tempered. Still: disturbing.

"You _said_ that I showed _promise_ ," he whined. "That I'd done better than anyone else who'd tried. That I beat _your_ record."

Jolene just looked at him, trying not to show how utterly lost she was at this point. Was he some manner of friends with the owner? But he…well, he was sounding more and more as if he were yet another _hero_. Apparently, not even counterparts could escape world-saving duties.

There was the disquietening sense building in the pit of her stomach that, someday soon, if not already, this boy would be a hero worthy of her respect. Damn.

"You did," she said, hoping that he wasn't making this up, but instinctively trusting his integrity. "Do you think it's easy to find a new challenge for someone like that? The red door will be worth it, I promise."

He seemed appeased by this (or by being right?), a bright smile returning to his face. "Really? Will you send me a letter, to let me know when it's ready? I don't know how the postman delivers mail all throughout Hyrule without his own train…."

Link trailed off, and his fist rose to his chin, head bowed in brief contemplation. "Maybe he has a hidden hot air balloon? It's _not_ a stupid idea!" he retorted to apparently no one. _There_ was a brief flicker of the familiar glare, just as Jolene remembered it from her duels with The Kid she'd met in the World of the Ocean King. A shiver crept up her spine for a moment, but it lasted only a moment before he seemed to rein himself back in, and the sense of her impending demise ebbed away.

It hadn't even been directed at her. The air here must really have whispered something horrible to him.

"I'll send you a letter," she found herself saying. "I promise."

Now, she really _had_ to find that other-her, to cover her tracks. Why had she said that?

Link beamed at her. "Thanks! My name's Link—I don't know if I introduced myself, before. I was just so—and it was—" he huffed. "I guess I was a bit distracted. Sorry." He gave her a sheepish, almost-sweet smile. "If I'm gonna be just like the Hero of Winds someday, I need all the practise I can get!" he declared, a familiar determination filling his eyes. For another moment, Jolene was reminded of another place and time. Another Link.

Linebeck muttered something like "Of course, it is," under his breath, but, thankfully, this newest Link was too caught up in his daydreams to notice.

Jolene, meanwhile, despaired. "Hero of _Winds_?" The "Hero of Time" she'd heard of, and apparently _met_ (and been rescued by). But "Hero of Winds"? That name was completely unfamiliar to her. Had they gone back in time, forwards or to another world again, as Linebeck had suggested?

She had the good sense not to ask anything about this newest Hero. "You will be, Kid. Someday. I told you you had potential, didn't I?"

Maybe she was playing it up, but, well, she'd rather not be on this one's bad side. She'd gotten off to a bad start with _both_ of the other Links. Not this time.

He smiled at her, but it was more subdued, as if he'd just realised something. "Yeah. I really should get going. The world won't save itself. But, look, before I go…. If Linebeck's visiting you…I suppose I should offer you a lift to the Trading Post, too. Do you want to come?"

"No! No, that's okay—" Linebeck butt in. "I think we'll just…hang out here for a bit longer. Take in the sights."

He _would_ choose the worst possible time to interrupt. But, Jolene still had to find this "Take 'Em All On" proprietress. Link hadn't commented on how odd it was to see _her_ in Castle Town, so the game must be in one of these buildings. Nothing but the castle looked big enough.

"Thanks for the offer, Kid," she said. "We appreciate it."

"If you change your mind…let me know. The postman always knows where to find me."

He grinned at her, and walked off with a wave. "Bye, Take 'Em All On lady! Bye, Linebeck!"

He did not seem to realise that he'd failed to get her name.

***

Jolene managed to shake off Linebeck by ordering him to find something to eat. Then, after that, it was a matter of scouring the streets, reading signs, until she found the right building.

It was dark inside, and a woman stood in the middle of an antechamber. Three doors stood behind her, all of them shut. By all rights, they should have led to outside. Something more—magic—must be at work here. One of the doors was green, one was blue, and one was a lifeless brownish-colour. Jolene suspected that it would one day be red, just as Link had guessed.

There was a moment when the woman in the middle of the room and Jolene stared at each other. Jolene readily saw how the Kid might have confused the two of them. They were even dressed similarly. But the other woman didn't have any weapons on her—at least not visible ones. She remembered the Kid sometimes snapping his fingers and items like weapons falling into them.

The woman sank onto her knees before Jolene, staring up at her through a ponytail. "It has happened. You have come," she said. "Welcome, Great-Grandmother! Look what I have built, in honour of our heritage!"

Jolene fought the urge to respond to the offence she felt. "Do I look old enough to be your grandmother, brat?"

"Time moves in mysterious ways," said the other woman. "You have come to the future from the past. This is New Hyrule, named for a land of myths. No matter what you think, I _am_ your great-granddaughter. Magic is in our blood, it is in the blood of our people. The magic that protects your swords and returns them to you, that helps you to find allies and treasure. Yes, and the Ocean King's blessing is on you, as well. Each of the doors behind me leads to different points in space and time, some of which never existed. I worked hard on it. It is like the Gerudo Training Ground, from Great-Great-Great-Great-Grandmother's stories."

This had not been at all what Jolene had expected when she'd resolved to have a brief chat explaining the promise she'd made to The Kid on this other woman's behalf. She had expected that she might have to bargain, plead, cut a deal, or threaten. Being involved in weird, time-travely nonsense was not what she had expected. Perhaps it should have been.

Time travel. Good thing she'd stuck with her original theory.

"I told your best customer that you'd send him a letter when that last door is ready. He mistook me for you. Is that going to be a problem?"

Well, she tried to regain her equilibrium.

"We are family," the woman said, in an almost mysterious voice. "You are Matriarch. Your word is law."

Oh. It was going to be one of these situations. They always sort of creeped her out. She sort of wanted to back out, to run, to escape from this room right now.

"You'll send Link a letter telling him when the red door is ready?" she asked. Part of her wanted to learn more about this new world (new time!), but it was overruled by the sheer disturbance she felt at this odd scenario.

If she and Linebeck were in the future, it wasn't their _counterparts_ that the latest Link knew, was it?

"You will understand, soon. If you want to know more about this world, you should see Anjean in the Tower of Spirits. She was around when New Hyrule was started a hundred years ago."

Even though the strange woman (her great-granddaughter) sounded normal now, Jolene still found herself retreating outside with barely even a thanks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, so first I wanted to focus on the impeachment trial, and then I got sick. I'll start working on my stuff again soon. I hope.


End file.
